I typically only hear of the term "flamethrower" in a weapons context so yes, I'd say that it has to be a weapon. Yes, you can have a noncombat device that projects a flame but those are typically called something else (like "burner" or "torch"). I'd expect most people to first think of a weapon when they hear "flamethrower".

And I would assume that your device's flame is still controlled and directed – it may have some spread but you still choose where to point the device even when it's active. You probably also have a means of turning the device off, offering further control. So your device fits the definition, even if it might be crude.

An incendiary grenade would be an example of a device that offers no control or direction. Once it goes off it releases all the fire everywhere within range. Another example would be a burning gas well – it might project its fire in a fairly predictable fashion and in a clear direction (up) but you can't easily turn it off or point it somewhere else.

The main issue was that Vista asked for admin rights all the time. One of the first things they addressed with SP1 was to require admin privileges for fewer operations, cutting down on the number of UAC prompts.

For me the required characteristics would be that it dispenses a burning liquid at a distance in a controlled, directed manner.

• If it dispenses burning gas it's not very useful as a weapon and is really just a big gas burner. Roofing torches, blowtorches, and weed burners fall into this category.
• If it doesn't cover a meaningful distance it's also not very useful as a weapon and is essentially just a leaky container. Driptorches fall into this category.
• If it dispenses the burning material in an uncontrolled or undirected manner it's either an incendiary bomb/grenade of some sort or an accident. It might be a weapon but not one I'd call a flamethrower.

Or the dock randomly decides it doesn't like one specific computer anymore and falls back to being a USB3 hub. Thunderbolt docks are really cool but I've had tons of reliability issues with them over the years.

I still use one but it's been relieved from display duty because it didn't always play nice.

It comes across as trying to dissuade people from using their legally guaranteed sick time, though, which makes things iffy.

Yeah. That kind of behavior is super inappropriate and doesn't sound legal in Germany.

When I just tried to see if I could fix the issue it was no longer there. Apparently the Satisfactory 1.0.3 update silently fixed it. Nice.

It is for me. I already wasn't hot about Windows 11 and this year I went full Linux.

Has it been without problems? No, although most of my problems stem from dealing with the Windows partition I still keep on my desktop just in case. (Protip: Use NTFS-3G instead of NTFS3; the latter is horribly unstable.) Getting PipeWire to run my Bluetooth headphones on 44100 Hz to avoid crackling in Windows games was a bit arcane, admittedly.

On the upside, KDE looks nice with the default Breeze theme (I think that windows 10 and 11 are butt-ugly). My computers feel noticeably snappier and especially the networking stack blows Windows out of the water. KDE Connect makes sharing data between my devices comfortable. All games I've tried so far run well, with the biggest issue so far being that in Satisfactory I can't copy/paste settings between buildings.

I'm happy. There are still some areas that need work but it's pretty damn good already.

Right. Should've worn proper protective gear. Hard hat, headlamp, laboratory goggles, chemical-resistant waders, heat-resistant gloves, ESD strap, respirator, bomb suit, hi-viz vest. You know, the bare minimum to move a box.

My reaction exactly. I studied there as well. Lise Meitner may be underappreciated but at least someone made sure she's not forgotten.

True. Just this weekend I spent far too much time trying to get a printer to work again on Windows after its IP address got changed. In the end Windows refused to talk to the printer unless I removed and then readded the device from the Settings app, which prompted a reinstallation of the device driver. No, just changing the IP address in the device settings wasn't enough; Windows insisted on the driver being reinstalled.

Linux didn't need reconfiguration; it just autodetected that the printer had moved.

I'm not saying that Linux is without issues, not by far. But Windows has never been terribly "it just works" for me either. The closest to "it just works" was (aptly) OS X somewhere around Snow Leopard.

You forgot the degaussing sound for those screens that had that feature. Like turning them on but louder.

*KLONK*

I think Matrix 4 was specifically made to bury the franchise. It goes out of its way to make fun of its own existence and couldn't be more obviously a lame rehash of the first one. And as a franchise killer I can respect it.

Bonus points for not turning your parents' backyard into a Superfund site.

That's what happens when you comment right before going to bed...

I want clarifying as most as I was making fun of the LLM in the picture, which did put "an eighth season would've been too expensive" as a reason for the almost-cancellation after season three. That might've been a reason to cancel in the end but not then.

The show was almost canceled after the third season because an eighth season would've been too expensive. Better cancel five seasons sooner, then.

You'd need to fork if you decided that you don't like the direction an engine is moving towards. Other than that there's no real reason.

You could technically fork Blink but the question is whether you have the resources to keep up with web standards. The Web is effectively the universal UI toolkit these days and the pace of development reflects that.

Hurd?

Modern ANC is impressive.

When I'm on my bike I actually have less wind noise with my earbuds in than with my bare ears, which was a pretty odd feeling at first.

I also have a pair of over-ears, Sony XM5s, which have even better ANC. Used those while vacuuming and didn't hear the motor of the vacuum cleaner. I heard its wheels, though. Freaky.

Of course all of this is tied to the usual Bluetooth headphone drawbacks so YMMV.